View full sizeUniversity of South Alabama president Gordon Moulton wheels out the first bicycle of a new transportation program during a USA Board of Trustees meeting in Mobile, Ala., Friday, Mar. 11, 2011.

MOBILE, Ala. -- University of South Alabama President Gordon Moulton on Friday presented two students with a single green bicycle — a symbol, he said, of the university’s commitment to build bike paths and provide alternate, green transportation to students in coming years.

“The is really the final endowment we needed to make our initiatives affective,” said USA Student Government Association President Kim Proctor, who accepted the bicycle with a fellow student at the university’s monthly board of trustees meeting.

The Student Government Association, along with the Student Sustainability Council, has been working to make USA a more green campus for years, she said.

Moulton told the board during a PowerPoint presentation that sustainability efforts and green thinking aren’t new to USA. Student Sustainability Council President Cassie Fambro said, “I know the PowerPoint said sustainability is not new to South, but it’s not visible.”

She said the university’s recycling projects and a push for green construction are just the beginning of the council’s goal — the bikes and paths, she said, will make a more visible impact at the university and in the community.

“This is going to be a legacy that will be a little different from most legacies,” she said. “It’s not about what we’re leaving behind, it’s about what we’re not leaving behind.”

More than 500 bikes will be provided for students, Moulton said, but the university was still searching Friday to find a sponsor to front the costs.

He estimated each bike would cost less than $100.

Once the bike paths are in place, Moulton said, students can “pick up a bike at one location, ride it to the next and leave it there.” The university will provide racks where students can leave the bikes, he said.

It was unclear Friday when the project would be funded and complete.

Becky DeVillier, USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital administrator, was also recognized at the board meeting. She is retiring at the end of the month.

Her replacement, Owen Bailey, the executive vice president of Mobile Infirmary’s community and governmental affairs department, was introduced to the board.

“My family and I are really thrilled to be a part of the USA family,” he said. “I have been welcomed so incredibly, and I haven’t even started yet.”